Wes
Houston
Wes is
second from the left. George Christ is third
One
personal favorite is Wes Houston.
Wes
Houston had a career as a Greenwich Village folksinger and writer
for Broadside Magazine before he turned rock 'n' roller. During the
turbulent 1960s, an accompanist to The Reverend F.D.Kirkpatrick, Wes
played traditional music on The Poor People's March and at Resurrection
City in Washington D.C. Both Kirkpatrick and Houston can be heard
on "Time Is Running Out" (Broadside 312, 1969), "A Broadside Reunion"
(Broadside 314, 1970).
When
the times were a-changin', Wes reset his clock. With The Elaine White
Band (including Howie Blauvelt,
see The Hassles),
Howie
Blauvelt, Elaine White, Wes Houston
he performed at an event arranged by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin,
at The Fillmore, called "The Initiation Of The Yippies." They appeared
again at the first "Be-In" held in Central Park. On that bill were
Elephant's Memory (including lead singer, Carly Simon) and Phil Ochs.
Ochs had some problems with his guitar that day and so he borrowed
Houston's Gibson J-50. "In the picture that was in the papers the
next day, Phil was playing my guitar. That picture got a lot of play
and a lot of people assumed that Phil's choice guitar was that one.
Gibson sales went up!"
Wes
teamed up with his childhood friend, harmonica virtuoso George Christ.
Christ had spent a tenure in another Queens band, J.F. Murphy and
Free Flowing Salt. Together, they began to perform original tunes
along the coffee-house circuit. "The coffee house circuit was a nice
way to play. There were a lot of rathskellers, too. All the colleges
had 'em. They might have been the best joints to do. I met (sound
engineer extraordinaire) Don King at a place called The Salt Of The
Earth in New Hyde Park which was a good hang-out. There was a considerable
network of good singers and players and I ran across most all of them."
As
his sound expanded, so did his band. Wes Houston and His All-Star
Space Band with Doug Baldwin, Ralph Bianculli, Gary Brooks (brother
of bass legend Harvey, the only man to play bass with The Doors),
George Christ, Marc Jay, Mike Nugent, Joe Piazza and Larry Sheba--all
living in the same Queens Village house, on the same street Wes grew
up on (And Wes still lives there!)--became Long Island's big club
draw. At one point, George Willig was a member. "One day, we're sitting
around watching TV when we hear about some crazy dude climbing up
the side of The World Trade Center. Even before they caught up with
him, we knew only Willig was crazy enough to do something like that!"
With
a reputation as the local hippie band, they released a single that
is now rare and collectible, "Wanderin'" (Vector VRS001, 1978). "Right
from the start, we found work at Broadway Charley's in New York City.
Then we moved out onto the circuit playing The Right Track Inn and
McDimple's. But I think the band really clicked when we took up residence
at The Arizona Hotel in Long Beach. We developed an audience who wanted
to hear a real party band. The longer we stayed at The Arizona, the
more momentum we gained. You know, we were the last band to play Max's
Kansas City and the first to play CBGB!" Through the years, Wes has
played nearly every venue, over 2000 stages, in the metropolitan area.
The
Wes Houston Band appears regularly all over the metropolitan area.
Fans can quickly find out where by calling the SpaceLine at
(718)
468-9308
Also, you can catch Wes Houston Jr. and his band, Jack Black, at area
clubs. As always, Lighting by King Of Wing!
To contact Wes, send snail mail to
Wes
Houston
P.O Box 28434
Queens Village, N.Y. 11428
Click
here to read The Wes Houston Band press release
Check
out Fred Piscop's "day job" site"
Click
Here for Wes Houston's discography
Click
Here To return to the Index
©
Richard Arfin 1987 Revised 2004 All Rights Reserved
